Cyanotype Experiments on Fabric

To continue with cyanotype, Sue decided to make some fabric prints last week and try a little experimenting.  Nothing outlandish, just some simple additions.  Her usual go to for altering backgrounds is to spritz with water and a soda ash solution.  This time the solution must have been pretty strong (or the chemical coating for the cyanotype was thin) Because it worked almost like bleach and completely took out the color in places.  Or maybe she was too heavy handed with the spray?

Above are the 2 pieces set out in the sun.  The places that appear yellow in the photos are where the soda ash solution was sprayed.  The brownish spots are sprinkles (or clumps) of turmeric.  

These are the 2 pieces after a few hours in the sun, before removing the glass and plant material.  The plants, by the way, are a mixture of ferns, nandina leaves, money plant seed pods, and an unopened blossom from the nandina.  

Here's what they look like after removing the plant material but before rinsing. It takes several rinses in cool water to rinse out the cyanotype solution.  Continue rinsing until water runs clear.  Usually, Sue lets them soak overnight.

Above are the two prints after rinsing.  You can see in the one on the right how the soda ash solution took out the blue background instead of just giving it some texture.  The gold-brown spots are from the turmeric.  Overall, both pieces turned out well.  Note to self, go easy on the spray next time!  And perhaps some more experiments with other substances to come.  Looks like we're in for some sunny, hot weather this week.  

Cyanotype Postcards

Sue has been part of a postcard swap group for over 15 years, maybe 17 or 18? But we have finally decided to end our exchanges; the group has decreased in size over the years down to just 5.  Elizabeth joined us for the tail end.  There was not a particular theme for this round, just whatever each person wants to create. Sue decided to see how cyanotype prints of spring flowers would work.  

She gathered some blossoms from periwinkle, money plant, and azaleas and set up the components to expose them to the sun.  The cotton fabric was previously treated with the cyanotype chemicals.  The base is foam core board topped with the fabric, plant materials, and glass held in place with binder clips.  The arrangements were spritzed with water and vinegar before covering with the glass.  Different additions can vary the results of the print.

Then they were set outside in the sun for several hours.  The picture below show the boards after sun exposure.

 

Then the glass and plant materials are removed.  Sometimes the success of the print is evident, other times it takes extensive rinsing to get to the final print.  Rinsing is always required, but some pieces that Sue treated have more solution on them and take more rinsing.

 

Above is the periwinkle piece before and after rinsing.  You can see what a difference rinsing makes.  After several water changes, the piece soaked overnight to get to the final result. Sue used the periwinkle piece to create her postcards.  The printed fabric was cut into four 4 x 6 inch pieces and fused to the postcard base (a stiff interfacing like TimTex), then the purple stitching was added.  A backing of cardstock was fused to the other side and edges satin stitched.  

 

 

Above are the 4 postcards that were sent.  Sue was happy with the results to celebrate Spring and the final exchange of the group.